Improvement of the methodology for assessing domestic wastewater treatment quality using benchmarking tools

Problems with the treatment efficiency of domestic wastewater for the Ural Federal district have remained relevant for several decades. More than 55% of the total amount of contaminated wastewater originates from municipal wastewater utilities. Sectoral legislation reform, the development of private capital and tariff regulation have contributed to the long-term improvement of municipal wastewater utilities in solving modernization and environmental problems, including the involvement of different groups of stakeholders in this process. The existing methods and tools for assessing the achievements of key performance indicators in the field of domestic wastewater treatment are not representative, do not reflect the dynamic results; information turnover occurs with no publicity; and there is no possibility to compare results with similar companies in other districts of the Russian Federation, to identify and replicate the best practices. This paper proposes a methodical approach for wastewater treatment quality assessment conducted by water companies. The transition from the currently used indicator, the proportion of sewage samples that do not meet the accepted standards for allowable discharge standards (ADS), doesn't allow making an adequate assessment of the water companies' efforts in wastewater treatment facilities' modernization, towards indicators that take into account the multiplicity and frequency of ADS excess by effluent components, is suggested. The proposed indicators can be used in sectoral benchmarking, for assessment of the effectiveness of the environmental activities within wastewater utilities. The comparison and analysis of the indicators' dynamics can help identify and replicate the best practices used in the field of wastewater treatment processing, under conditions of availability of information to the professional community. Finally, this action will create significant progress for water companies on the issue of reducing negative environmental impacts. © 2018 WIT PressACKNOWLEDGEMENT This work was supported by Act 211 of the government of the Russian Federation, contract No. 2.A 03.21.0006

Introduction of ISO management systems in municipal enterprises providing water supply, water preparation and wastewater treatment in the major cities of the Russian Federation

This article gives information about current situation in the introduction of management systems that comply with ISO standards at water utilities in major Russian cities. Analysis of collected data has shown that the number of plants with international certificates is not large. It might be due to the fact that water and wastewater treatment plants in Russia used to be monopolies on the water services market and worked without any competitors until recently. Constant underfinancing of municipal institutes of water industry also interferes with international certification and other direction of forced development. The article analyses basic reasons for management systems' implementation on municipal water utilities. It compares experience and the results of implementation of Environmental Management Systems complying with ISO 14001 standard on water utilities of Moscow and St. Petersburg. It analyses prospects of international certification of water industry facilities at the current stage of Russian society development. © 2017 WIT Press

Challenges and opportunities for energy recovery from municipal solid waste in the Russian Federation

Energy recovery from municipal solid waste (MSW) is currently a key factor in waste management in Russia, as can be seen from the corresponding changes in the state regulatory framework. The paper presents a comparative assessment of different waste flow characteristics; it focuses on pre-treatment options and the method of subsequent thermal treatment. It reflects the basic method of untreated MSW incineration and other advanced technologies which have different levels of waste preparation. Step-by-step research has been carried out in a large Russian city in order to determine different technological approaches to recovering energy from MSW. The study included: 1) field studies of the composition and characterization of MSW; 2) laboratory studies of MSW thermal properties, i.e. moisture, ash content and calorific value; 3) several options for waste treatment schemes with equipment of different technical specifications; 4) analysis of material flow, energy flow and key substance flow according to these considered schemes. The research revealed that for all seasons a significant proportion of MSW (almost 40%) is represented by fines (below 50 mm). On average, the energy potential of MSW (the total content of waste paper, polymers, textiles, wood, multilayer packaging, leather, rubber, footwear) amounts to about 40%. It was found that MSW calorific value depends on fraction size, since screening (over 50 mm) is characterized by high moisture and low content of valuable components, compared to MSW greater than 50 mm in size. Pre-processing and treatment of MSW allows solid recovered fuel (SRF) to be obtained with a calorific value similar to brown coal. The energy balance of the process allows the conclusion that 33.8% of initial MSW energy potential is concentrated in residues from the sorting process, since it has a relatively low calorific value of 4.8 MJ/kg, but a high mass fraction of 47.9%. In the process of MSW treatment and solid fuel production, most of the chlorine and mercury (80% and 55% respectively) is removed by the rest of the sorting process. The data obtained in the study can be used in selecting the optimal option for energy recovery from MSW. © 2019 WIT PressACKNOWLEDGEMENT The work was supported by Act 211 Government of the Russian Federation, contract № 02.A 03.21.0006

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF NATIONAL DECARBONIZATION POLICIES: IS IT POSSIBLE TO ACHIEVE CARBON NEUTRALITY BY 2050?

The complexity of the task of decarbonizing the global economy requires an integrated and coordinated approach from the governments of developed and developing countries, the organization of effective international cooperation and scientific and technological progress in the field of environmental technologies and alternative energy sources. At present, despite the measures taken, the problem of achieving carbon neutrality is the difficulties of abandoning fossil fuels in countries showing significant economic growth and being the largest CO2 emitters in recent decades. The purpose of this study is to review and analyse the current state of different energy sources consumption by the leading countries in CO2 emissions, and the projected changes in the global energy system during the fourth energy transition considering possible decarbonization scenarios. The article presents a comparative analysis of national policies and initiatives for the transition to a low-carbon economy and assesses the prospects for achieving the stated targets for reducing CO2 emissions by 2050. © 2023 WIT Press.Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, MinobrnaukaACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The research funding from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (Ural Federal University Program of Development within the Priority-2030 Program) is gratefully acknowledged

The advantages and disadvantages of implementing the discipline "theoretical mechanics" in the traditional form and format of the online course

The opinions of students studying on the full-time course of study, the pros and cons of the online course in relation to the traditional form of implementing the discipline are analyzed. Directions for improving the online course are suggested. The prospects for using online courses in the educational process are estimatedПроанализированы мнения студентов, обучающихся на очной форме обучения, о плюсах и минусах онлайн курса по отношению к традиционной форме реализации дисциплины. Предложены направления совершенствования онлайн курса. Оценены перспективы использования онлайн-курсов в учебном процесс

The development of electrolytes for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells

This report describes a number of experimental studies on the solid state electrolytes for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs): Ce1-xLnxO2-δ (Ln = La, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Dy, Ho, Er, Yb), some multicomponent systems Ce1-xLnx/2Ln x/2O2-δ (x = 0 - 0.20; Ln = Sm, La, Gd and L'n = Dy, Nd, Y), some systems with simultaneous doping by rare earth and alkali earth elements Ce0.8(Sm1-xMx)0.2O2-δ (M = Ca, Sr; x = 0.0 - 1.0) and Ce0.8(Sm1-x-yBayMx)0.2O2-δ (M = Ca, Sr; x = 0, 0.15, 0.20; y = 0.05, 0.1). Two important aspects are emphasized: the effect of different dopants' ionic radius and concentration on the electrical properties of CeO2 based solid solutions and the influence of the method of preparation on the structural properties of ceria ceramics and the electrochemical performance of single SOFCs on their base. To describe the electrolytic properties of solid electrolytes the notation of the electrolytic domain boundary (EDB) - the critical oxygen partial pressure P*O2 at which the values of the electronic and ionic components of conductivity are equal, were calculated and presented. The interpretation of these data will lead to a better understanding of, subsequent improvements to and ultimately, the commercialization of IT-SOFCs in Russia. © 2014 WIT Press.International Journal of Safety and Security Engineering;International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning;WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environmen

Ocean-bottom seismographs based on broadband MET sensors: architecture and deployment case study in the Arctic

The Arctic seas are now of particular interest due to their prospects in terms of hydrocarbon extraction, development of marine transport routes, etc. Thus, various geohazards, including those related to seismicity, require detailed studies, especially by instrumental methods. This paper is devoted to the ocean-bottom seismographs (OBS) based on broadband molecular–electronic transfer (MET) sensors and a deployment case study in the Laptev Sea. The purpose of the study is to introduce the architecture of several modifications of OBS and to demonstrate their applicability in solving different tasks in the framework of seismic hazard assessment for the Arctic seas. To do this, we used the first results of several pilot deployments of the OBS developed by Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IO RAS) and IP Ilyinskiy A.D. in the Laptev Sea that took place in 2018–2020. We highlighted various seismological applications of OBS based on broadband MET sensors CME-4311 (60 s) and CME-4111 (120 s), including the analysis of ambient seismic noise, registering the signals of large remote earthquakes and weak local microearthquakes, and the instrumental approach of the site response assessment. The main characteristics of the broadband MET sensors and OBS architectures turned out to be suitable for obtaining high-quality OBS records under the Arctic conditions to solve seismological problems. In addition, the obtained case study results showed the prospects in a broader context, such as the possible influence of the seismotectonic factor on the bottom-up thawing of subsea permafrost and massive methane release, probably from decaying hydrates and deep geological sources. The described OBS will be actively used in further Arctic expeditions

The Finite Element Method for Dirichlet Problem With Degeneration of Solution on the Boundary

Finite element method was created to solve the first-boundary-value problem for the second-order elliptic equation with degeneracy of input data, which solution has weak singularity on the curvilinear boundary of a two-dimensional convex domain. It has been determined that an approximate solution converges to the exact generalized solution in the norm of the Sobolev weighted space

On the Dirichlet Problem with Corner Singularity

We consider the Dirichlet problem for an elliptic equation with a singularity. The singularity of the solution to the problem is caused by the presence of a re-entrant corner at the boundary of the domain. We define an Rν-generalized solution for this problem. This allows for the construction of numerical methods for finding an approximate solution without loss of accuracy. In this paper, the existence and uniqueness of the Rν-generalized solution in set W∘2,α1(Ω,δ) is proven. The Rν-generalized solution is the same for different parameters ν